The Boiling Man
by asdfguy432
Summary: Many die with many regrets and burdens. Those worthy and great in spirit are given a second chance. Although fairy tales speaks of the ones that bear the tittle of the crow, he will always be known, as the Boiling Man.
1. Prologue

_**Hello everyone, and welcome to this, probably, poorly written fanfic! I want to state now, that Jaune WILL be OP in this story. But that's because I am basing this story off the original "The Crow" comic by James O'Barr. Though this story will have action, and gory deaths, it is NOT an action fic. This is meant to be a story about the loss of a loved ones, the pain that comes with it, and how it must be allowed to run its course.**_

 _ **With that being said, I hope you all enjoy this story as it develops.**_

* * *

The only thing in sight was pitch black darkness and it felt cold and tight. His hands moved around and he only felt the familiar feeling of splintering wood and the scent of dirt. A feeling of dread filled him as the frightening thought entered his mind, and he began to panic. His body thrashed around the tight coffin, punching and kicking until his fist burst through the top. Without even thinking, he began digging himself out. A pain shot through his chest and a scream erupted from his throat as he finally burst through the wet soil. He fell forward, catching his breath and holding himself tightly. He squirmed around against the floor, feeling the pain of his reawakening muscles pulling and squeezing. He groaned as he came to his senses, realizing that rain was falling, but didn't feel any colder.

He got to his feet, still hunched over. He looked around, but could only see tombstone after tombstone. He stumbled across the graveyard, shaking with each step he took. A black mass caught his eye as it made its way towards him. He flinched as it landed next to him on another stone. He looked at it, nearly hypnotized by it. The small crow was followed by another that landed on his shoulder. He wiped his head to look at the one on his shoulder and slowly reached up to touch the bird before another one landed on his forearm. It stared at him and bored into his soul, telling him something he couldn't quite make out. The first one cawed and flew off. The others followed as did he.

The rain fell harder as he got closer to wherever the crows where taking him, but he knew exactly where he was going. He slowed down as he arrived to an alley way, his feet sinking into small puddles, making him realize he was barefoot the entire time. Two of the black feathered birds landed on his shoulders and directed him to the third one, standing on top of a dumpster, looking at the inside. He didn't argue and reached inside, pulling out a pair of worn, low-cut black steel toed working boots.

The wooden door creaked as it slowly swung open, the three crows flew inside and made themselves comfortable as he walked in, hugging the wet suit coat closer to his body on instinct. He made his way into the middle of the room and looked around. Everything had burn marks and soot. A small noise caught his attention and he quickly looked down, only to see a small dog staring up at him happily.

"Zwei?" He crouched down and grabbed the small corgi. Zwei's fur felt incredibly soft against his skin. But the feeling didn't last, as sudden flashes forced him to drop the dog and drop to his knees in pain. The smell of fire filled his nose. Blood appeared on his body and an multiple ash colored arrows suddenly hit him in the chest. He yelped and threw himself back. He screamed in pain and stood up before stumbling around. The crows watched as the boy relived the painful memories, waiting for them to end so that they could show him what came next. He suddenly ran to a pipe sticking out of the wall, acting as if he'd been thrown, and allowed himself to be impaled through the chest.

The room remained quiet as he slowly looked back, seeing the pipe sticking out his back. It had gone through his heart... but it didn't hurt. He took several steps back until he could see the pipe. He looked at his chest and saw that no blood came out.

 **It's okay kid. Baby steps. Just like at Beacon...**

The crows led him to a room he vaguely recognized. It was a standard room, except for the vanity in the far right corner next to the dresser. The crows landed there as he sat down.

 _A young woman sat there. Her husband admiring her. She opened a small cabinet that contained a few pictures._

He reached down to the third drawer and found the pictures. They where of the woman, her husband, and eight... children... The tears began to flow as he remembered what had happened to them. He remembered who they where and who he was.

 **We told you not to look, Jaune...**

He sobbed as every single detail came back to him. He screamed and threw everything off the vanity and stood up. He ripped the coat and shirt off his torso and began looking through every single drawer until he found what he the things he was looking for. He quickly changed clothes and sat back down, rummaging through the makeup and grabbing a single black lipstick. He looked at the mirror in front of him as he drew the lines of a false smile on his face, as well as lines going down his forehead to his cheeks. One of the crows landed in front of him and dropped a small box.

 _"Mooom! Help! HAHA!"_

 _"I JUST WANNA SEE HOW YOU LOOK WITH IT!"_

Inside the box, was a bottle of black hair dye. His oldest sister was hellbent on using it on him just to see how he looked like. She would finally get to see it. Jaune opened the bottle and poured it on to his hair, not caring that it spilled anywhere else, or stained his hands as he coated every last strand with the dye.

The rain continued to pour down as he stepped out, pulling the hoodie of his sisters jacket up to cover his head, and pulling his mother's trench coat closer so that the rest of it wouldn't get wet. The crows landed on his shoulders and head, each with a black rose in their possession. He grinned and looked up to the sky and seeing the shattered moon behind the thick clouds that brought the downpour. The crows dropped the roses as he began to walk, petting Zwei as he passed him, and disappeared into the night.


	2. Inertia

**Just to be clear, this is a rewrite of the story I used to have up on Wattpad before I gave up on it.**

* * *

Empty souls tend to fill themselves with trivial items, hoping to get some sort of feeling of accomplishment from it. Some buy their items, some find or build them. But most, as immoral as it is, take them from unsuspecting victims.

Joseph Chess was no different. He was born a Faunus, a position nobody wanted to be in, especially in Vale. The White Fang took him in and taught him how to steal at an early age. He gre to be one of the best, rivaling Emerald herself. The only problem he did have with being part of the White Fang, was having to work for humans. But the chance to spark a revolution was to great to pass up. Especially when every undisclosed Schnee wherehouse was given to you by Roman Torchwick himself.

"Seriously Schnee, your guards should get their shit together. Fuckin' morons." He had gotten his hands on a box full of scrolls created by the Schnee corporation that would not be released for another month, and he was happier than anything at the moment. His small celebration was cut short as he ran into, what he could have described at the moment, a ghost man. His grip on the box loosened and they fell to the ground, breaking the screens to a small percentage of the Scrolls. The boy stood almost taller than him, but he had appeared so silently.

"Dammit! Look what you did, ya dust head!"

"Do I have your attention, Mr. Chess?" The ghost man's calm voice angered Joseph more than he already was, and snapped him out of his startled stupor.

"Attention!? Man, you scared the crap out of me! You just cost me a whole lot of lien pal... I think you better cough up some cash." The boy ignored his threat and continued.

"Shelby The Giant said you know of Adam Taurus..." Joseph pulled out a small pocket knife, his patience growing thinner by the second.

"Give me your fucking money kid!" The boy continued, un-phased by the small threat.

"Emerald Sustrai... Cinder Fall... Roman Torchwick... Mercury black..."

"That's it! You're done!" The blade of the pocket knife buried itself into Jaune's right shoulder. Silence filled the empty street for a moment before Joseph spoke up.

"You must be on something crazy too not feel that kid..." Jaune looked at his shoulder, watching as blood began to fall down his mother's trench coat. He reached up and grabbed the handle of the knife, while looking straight at the man who stabbed him. He slowly pulled it out, not feeling a single thing as he did.

"Pain? I know pain at the molecular level. It pulls at my atoms, sings to me in an alphabet of fear. I am the **Boiling Man** , come to break the bones of your sins, meat puppet." He licked some of the blood off of the knife, smiling darkly at the, now frightened criminal, standing before him before handing him back the stained weapon.

"Try again?" He ignored the small trail of blood going down his chin, knowing well that it served the purpose of scaring the man.

"I-I think I'll pass..." Jaune's face grew frighteningly serious and his eyes bore into the trembling criminal.

"Taurus and the others, where are they? Shelby The Giant didn't know. He said you would." Joseph felt cold sweat running down his forehead and temples.

"Shelby wouldn't give me out like than, man." He took a step back as Jaune reached into his coat's pockets, pulling out a pair of big scissors with stained blades.

"Oh, he told. It took four digits... But he told... I would have brought the fingers as documentation, but he was feeling hungry..." Joseph felt the his back meet a brick wall behind him and he began to slide down as his legs gave out on him.

"Y-you're lying..." A sinister smile came to Jaune's face as he held up the scissors.

"Fingers or toes?"

"OKOKOK! I haven't heard from Adam or Mercury in weeks! But Emerald always hangs out by Juniors club! I think she lives on a floor above or something. Cinder has a place in Downtown in fourteenth street. Roman's out of Vale until Cinder tells him to... Please don't kill me..." Jaune looked at the man. He stared on as he held his head, sweating and sobbing.

"Why Mr. Chess, I already count you among the dead." The light coming above him caught his attention and he looked up, sighing as a memory came to him.

"Look! It's a full moon..." Joseph chuckled quietly.

"That's a street light Ghost Man..."

"It was a full moon that night too..."

"You're crazy, man." Jaune's hands took hold of Joseph's head as he leaned in close, sneering.

"Tell them I'm coming, Mr. Chess." He stood straight before turning around and walking away slowly. He felt the hole in the coat and saw how far his blood had fallen. He would have to remind himself to clean, and patch it up later.

"Mr. Chess?"

"Y-yes, sir...?"

"Are there spots in a Leopard's eyes, also?"


	3. White HeatNew Dawn Fades

**WHITE HEAT**

 _ **Still, so still, in the city tonight. Twelve o'clock, tick-tock, when all that is good slinks away like a beaten dog and the black, black shadows are alive with the dead, twisted poetry in broken English, flesh and blood and staring faces…**_

 _ **So grey and despairing, strong as steel but collapsed inside, The Crow laughs under a street light, a voodoo smile of one who died and still yet lives…**_

 _ **He makes his way home where he can be shapeless in the dark and paint his face in the colours of joy…**_

 _ **Tonight, Hell sends an angel bearing gifts…**_

In the valey, in a large field, in the small village, in a forgotten house…

A shape, a man. He stares out an upstairs window, unmoving, yet seeing nothing, lifeless and sick, slumped in despair, he is listening to sounds, to voices. Voices that have been gone for a year, but still ring so loudly…

He hears gunshots … girls crying … sobbing and begging…

He could not help them but now he cannot remember why…

He hears men's voices, shouts, so evil and grim he hears their names: Mercury Black, Roman Torchwick, Adam Taurus, Cinder Fall and Emerald sustrai. The sounds sink into his heart like ice and burn in his head with a heat so intense it glows white…

To say that Mercury was overlyconfident in his skills as an assassin, would be an understatement. Although he never said it out loud, he though himself to be the best of the best, even when it was obvious that he wasn't. It was also obvious that he was not one to be patience, as evidense by the corpses of a pair of dealers left just down the road from him. Another deal gone horribly wrong for them, but not for him. He got to keep his money, and his amunition. Tonight was a good night indeed.

It sickened Jaune to see such a waste of human skin walk around, breathing the air that belonged to others. He would be the first off his list for two reasons that had not come to him until now.

Crocea Mors...

Jacques Arc...

A broken body. A shattered blade and shield. He breathed calmly as he waited in the dirty alley.

The rain came down lighter than earlier as Mercury slipped into the same alley as a cat would through a slide door. Jaune could feel it; His soul was twisted and rotten enough to have maggots and other unlikeable creatures surround it as if it was a corpse. It was a cold October night, but Mercury was flushed with heat...

As he crept through the allery, the dim light coming from the moon iluminated a dark shape...

a boy.

a boy dressed in black. His hands where tucked into the pockets of the long trenchcoat

"Hello, Mercury... Remember me?" He lifted his head to meet Mercury's eyes and gave a ghost of a smile.

* * *

 **NEW DAWN FADES**

 _Remember?_

A smirk came to Mercury's face. Was this supposed to startle him?

"No, I don't." Mercury readied his weapon, inspecting the boy's pale face. He was wearing some sort of makeup. "What are you all painted up for, kid?"

"I'm going to a funeral march." A threat. Mercury felt himself grow cold for no reason. Jaune heard the click and boom from Mercury's boot mounted weapon, and felt the painless sensation of the wasted shell burst through the back of his skull. A second shot rang out, but it didn'd come from Mercury.

The bullet tore through the the right knee of his prosthetic leg, breaking it in half. A strong roundhouse kick sent Mercury crashing into one of the brick walls of the alley. A small flash of white made him realise that his aura was already completely drained. The bottom half of his prosthetic was kicked towards him by the boy, who caught his attention once again.

"Who are you!?" He shouted as the boy crouched on front of him. He scooted himself to sit as straight as he could against the grimy wall, but was only met with recitation.

"Rejoice to the full in the glory that is about to be yours!" he said, drawing a smoking pistol from his trenchcoat pocket and pressing it to Mercurys's chest. "And give thanks to the Lord God who has called you to his kingdom!"

"Man, I don't even know you!" Mercury protested. This seemed to break through his assailant's reverie, but what he said was not something Mercury expected to hear. The boy removed his hood and let the rain, which had started to come down harder, was the blood and black dye out, making sure it stayed out of his face to that the Silver haired butcher could look into his eyes and feel all the hatred he had to offer.

"A month ago... A cold September night... A house in a field... Two yellow arcs... Eight women... Two men... Madness. Pain, and the shadows. My god's, the shadows!"

The slow realization of who was standing in front of him hit him like a train. But it couldn't be him. Nobody coul have survived that! He looked straight into the boys eyes.

He saw death.

But what the boy saw in Mercury's eyes was not the fear he had painted on his face, but the absolute terror of his soul, a thousand times more evil than his face could express. He witnessed, in the butchers eyes, pure fear.

"You... You're supposed to be dead... Cinder said you where dead!" The boy smirked.

"Am I not?"

"I-it was Cinder's idea! She wanted you to pay for stopping her! "

The smirk faded and a vacant look filled his dead blue eyes, as if he where somewhere else.

 _"Happy birthday Ruby!" She was finally 17. Jaune decided to have his family throw a party for her, of course Yang and the rest helped out. Jaune held Pyrrha's hans as they sang to her._

 _Their smiles grew as she blew out the candles._

"And my mother?" The boy snapped, jamming the gun under Mercury's jaw.

"Sh-she was cold by the time I got to her..." A lie. "C-Cinder... wanted us to... have fun... And that just happened..."

Jaune had heard enough and bowed his head as he remembered more.

 _He hugged Karen tightly. She did most of the work and helped him make the cake._

 _He rememberes now, how they all liked to dress him up as a girl when he was six through nine. He remembered their smiles..._

He began speaking in a quiet, faraway voice. "Your soul rots..."

"I got connections man, I can fix you up..." He beggan pleading.

Jaune pulled the gun hammer back with a faint click. "It festers..."

 _All ten of them, happily splashing around at the beach, playing in the sand and complaining about having to leave so soon._

"H-HEY!" Mercury shouted, treying to get his attention. "I'm talking to you man! YOU CAN'T-"

"But fear not!" As he spoke, the top of Mercury's head exploded outwards and upwards in a spectacularly gory display of blood and brains. "I have medicine."

Jaune stood slowly, and stared emotionless at the body as the rain poured down on him, washing Mercury's blood off his body.

"May the God's grant you the mercy that I cannot."

* * *

Jaune sat in the desolate, charred house, cross-legged and hunched over on the bare floorboards, casting a dark silhouette in the squares of light streaming through the window behind him. Surrounding him, a dozen photographs of them in happier times... Most of his parents or sisters alone.

He stood and stared blankly out the the windows, and at the patterns created by the torrents of rainwater as they cascaded down the cold glass...

 _ **There is a man...**_

 _ **Playing a violin...**_

 _ **And the strings...**_

 _ **Are the nerves in his own arm.**_

Staring past the wire and their razor-sharp, deadly barbs … he saw her. Dressed in a frilly white dress, her face veiled by her soft golden hair … she stood unmoving. The backdrop of dead trees a vivid contrast to her … her, a vision of life.

Until she turns her face to him.

Her face, barren of flesh … simply skull.

Lady Death…

 _ **A twisted soul – the mortar…**_

 _ **Despair – the bricks…**_

 _ **To build a temple to sadness.**_

The rain pounds, he lays motionless of the cold, cold earth. His eyes wide open and staring … and seeing.

The arrow, and bullet holes in his head … are nothing.

The bloody tear leading a twisted path of pain from his hip to his left shoulder… is nothing.

What he sees … is everything…

Standing next to him, a large black crow screams a voiceless order at him over and over…

 _[Don't look, Jaune! Don't look!]_

He ties a spent shell in his hair.

"Number one," he says.


	4. The Kill

**I Copy-Paster most of this chapter from a fan made novelization of the original comic so that** **I didn't have to write any fight scenes, because I am awful at that.**

 **x**

* * *

"Somebody blew his friggin' head off," reiterated an ugly, scar-faced man with a dirty black goatee beard. "And we think you should look into it…" He spoke with fear in his voice, and it could be seen in his twitching fox ears.

The woman he was speaking to was sitting at the same table as him, just across to be exact. The table itself had numerous plans, weapons, dust crystals, and piles of white powder, which itself was being used by two White Fang commanders sitting at the table. The room they sat in was a small box which stunk of dead rodents.

The woman in question wore a fiery red dress, with yellow trimmings. Her eyes had a slightly similar color, but a burning amber instead of red, which could still be seen as fire. Seemingly continuing this trend of fire, she twirled a red dust container around dangerously. This woman, was Cinder fall.

She stopped playing with the small container and put it back on the table calmly. Her dangerous eyes glared at the faunus male.

"Are you dictating to me, mister Kail?" She spoke with venom in her voice. Everyone knew it wasn't wise to question, order, or even anger this woman in general, and she was reminding him.

"No ma'am." interrupted Reo. He was a muscular cat faunus male with a white suit, in the vain of Roman Torchwick complete with orange hair, wanting to distinguish himself from the rest of the White Fang members with his own unit. He sat opposite at the table to Kail and to Cinder's right. "He's just saying it looks bad on you..."

Two other men where in the room; one sitting at the table, opposite of Cinder, blowing circles of cigarette smoke into the already smokey atmosphere of the room, while the other leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, waiting impatiently for the meeting to be over with. Both men where little more than armed protection for their respective commanding officers, should Cinder decide to go overboard.

Kail was becoming impatient. He was a ranking officer in the White Fang army. He could lay waste to countless villages and take an entire city if Adam wanted him too, but he was stuck having to listen to this human woman. "Looks like you're losing power." He added to the persuasion.

Cinder was not easily persuaded. "Do you think I will allow this to go unchecked? If I didn't know better, I'd say you where the one's behind his death." She glared even harder at them and summoned a fireball in the palm of her hand.

"The floor is open for opposing viewpoints..."

None came.

Cinder was about to stand until Reo stood up and pointed to the window. "Hey! There's someone _moving_ out there!"

Cinder motioned for Kail to check the window. Distrustful, Kail walked to the window. It was a fifth-floor apartment. What the hell could get up this high that was worthy of their attention, he thought as he opened the window and put his head through.

He immediately found himself looking at a man dressed entirely in black, holding onto a rope attached to the roof of the building. He had barely noticed the black and white makeup the covered the man's face.

"Who the hell are you?!" he demanded.

"I'm Santa Claus," the man replied, putting the barrel of a gun to Kail's head. A bullet ploughed into Kail's head, splattering blood into the room and onto the street far below. With cat-like agility, the dark man hurled Kail's limp body into the room and swung in after him. "And you've all been very bad this year…"

A second bullet struck Reo in the chest before the dark man even touched down on the table. Blood seeped through the fabric of his suit. "Blood…" Julio moaned in disbelief, staring at the crimson smear on his hands. "Bullet proof vest not work … blood…"

"Poor soul," the dark man said, amused, "one need not suffer so…"

A second bullet obliterated much of Reo's upper face.

Around him, all hell broke loose as the two bodyguards struggled to find their weapons, which had fell from the table when Kail's body had come crashing back in, and Cinder attempted to get a shot at the mysterious figure fading into the shadows of the room.

"Where's my gun?!" one of the bodyguards cried.

"This one's mine, man!" the second replied, fighting off his counterpart to claim the precious weapon.

"No way, Kai's laying on yours…"

"That's a forty-four! That's mine!"

"Shoot him!" Cinder ordered, as the two bodyguards squabbled. "Somebody shoot him!"

The second bodyguard finally claimed sole possession of his weapon and swung round to face their attacker.

"What might your name be, Mr. Forty-Four?" the dark man asked him candidly.

"They call me Mad Jack," came the response, as the forty-four was raised. "Remember that!"

"Oh, a poet, Mad Jack! I shall remember that!" the dark man laughed as he fired a bullet solidly into Jack's chest, whose own shot strayed wide of the mark and struck the first bodyguard in the bicep.

"You muther…" Cinder stuttered, battling his jangling nerves to aim her own weapon straight. She was swiftly, and unexpectedly felled with a back-heel kick to the face from the dark man, who was laughing like a child at a fairground.

"Drowning men…"

Cinder's weapons shattered upon impact with the ground, some of the shards harmlessly hitting the cowering first bodyguard who had taken refuge under the table. He reached for the biggest shard he could see, which was underneath a bottle of whiskey that was resting on the edge of the table, pouring its contents onto the floor. Yet another bullet shot rang out, shattering through the bottle, the table underneath it, and into the first bodyguard's head.

A familiar figure with a pair of Hyena ears on top of its head rose up from underneath the table, holding a forty-four-calibre pistol.

"Mad Jack!" the dark man cried in delight. "You sport a vest also!? No honour among thieves?"

"I'm gonna kill you, you filthy human…" Jack groaned. His vest hadn't held up much better than Reo's. The dark man stood before him, allowing him a free shot.

Jack raised his weapon…

He fired…

The bullet strayed high of the target and ricocheted off the nightshade of the room's single lightbulb which hung over .

"You've got to hit me first, Jack," he dark man said, all the humor and emotion drained from his voice. "Down with the lambs, up with the lark," he sang. "Run to bed children, before it gets dark."

As methodically as Jack had been, the dark man aimed his weapon.

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."

He drew back the hammer.

"I've allies in heaven, Jack, I've comrades in hell…"

He fired. Blood splattered onto an electric wall socket, sending sparks flying into the room. "Say hello for me…"

An eerie silence fell over the room.

All were slain…

Except one.

"Well, well, Miss Fall…" the dark man said conversationally, turning to face the woman still sitting at her chair. "Looks like you're the only one still wasting good air." She began looking around the room, at the four fallen men who had tried so desperately to survive.

"Around around the sun we go," he sang, "the moon goes round the earth," he spun to face Cinder, his grasped his gun in an almost vice-like grip. "We do not die of death … we die of vertigo!"

 **THE KILL**

"Do you remember?" he asked, grabbing the light and illuminating himself with it. "Look close, Cinder."

She glared. He began.

"A man and a girl…" She felt some of her aura come back. She was scared at how he was able to take it out in a single kick, but took advantage of the moment to send a single fireball through his chest.

She smirked at the giant hole in his chest, but her smug smirk was replaced with a look of horror as it began to close, healing everything until all that was left was a torn hole through his shirt, exposing his toned chest.

He smirked darkly at her expression and motioned for her to sit down. She did

Cinder suddenly found himself in a mood for bargaining. Maybe she could talk her way out of this. "Listen. I'm not sure what you want, but maybe we could work together..."

The dark man's gaze remained on her. "You could work along side me. We could control everything" He glared at her, and then she knew he would not be swayed. "Take the Dust, it's worth millions in their current condition! Take that godammed powder these filthy animals where using! Just take them!"

The dark man scooped up a handful of the drug, letting it sift through his fingers back onto the table. "You would barter your life with chemicals?" He swept the rest from the table in a powdery snowfall.

"You're an idiot!"

"A house in a field..." the dark man said, continuing with his list.

"I offer you power and you treat it as if it was nothing!"

"The girls … there where seven of them…"

"Don't ignore me!"

"It was a party…"

Suddenly it all became clear to her: the guy was crazy! "You're insane!" She yelled. If she could push him over the edge, she might have a way out of this! " Are you gonna shoot me? Come on! Shoot!"

No change.

"Do you remember?"

"Yeah, I remember the house and those little broads," Maybe that would do it. "So what?"

It did.

"So this…"

Another shot. A hole opened up in the area of Cinder's face where her left eye had been. Scarlet blood and black ocular fluid ran down her face and spilled from her chin.

"You can go to hell..." Cinder grimaced.

"I've been waiting for a guide to take me by the hand," the dark man quoted, drawing back the hammer of the gun…

His second grisly task completed, the dark man opened the door of Cinder's apartment and left the carnage behind. He'd done a good deed. Four of those men had done nothing to him on that fateful night, but they were as guilty as Cinder.

 _Meowr?_

Another cat rubbed up against his ankle, joining the others that had begun following him as he walked down the dilapidated.

The city would be a better place without the likes of Kail, Mad Jack and their companions. And there was more to come.

Behind him a door opened; a frumpy middle-aged woman wearing a hairnet poked her head out and watched him approach the stairwell. Another innocent person who would be terrorised no longer by Cinder and his followers.

He turned to her and smiled.

"Evening ma'am," he said.

* * *

 **Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this story so far. Don't forget to check out the rest of my stories and give me some feedback so I can improve chapters, or come up with different ideas on what to put into future chapters.**

 **Shout out to both SpiritWolf313 for giving me a new idea on how to eliminate the next victim on Jaune's ASS-STOMPING TOUR. Go check out their Jaune/Crow story. It's awesome.**

 **And a big Than You to AunEIZen for giving me the idea to get you all to help me work on the characters that you don't see**

 **How should I better re-introduce the rest of the RWBY cast? Let me know what you think, and Thanks For Reading!**


	5. Like Tears

_"Will you marry me?" She stood frozen in surprise, not able to speak. Tears came to her eyes and a smile formed on her face as she nodded quickly._

 _"We're having a son..." The seven sisters' smiles grew widely and a small party commenced only an hour later._

 _"Son..." Blood fell from the man's lips and he slumped down. Dead..._

Manic laughter and sobbing came from the hunched figure clad in black. A bloodied knife was held tightly in his right hand as the wounds in his left closed. His blood hit the floor, adding to the growing pool beneath him. Jaune's laughter and tears stopped when the familiar sound of nails scraping the floor echoes throughout the empy house, making him turn and spot the adorable corgi.

"Zwei." He walked to the dog and picked him up. "What are you doing here again?" He smiled as Zwei gave him his usual dog face. His smile faltered as he remembered his friends.

"I can't see them... not like this..." The small dog gave a whine and licked his face, trying to cheer him up. He gave the adorable Corgi a smile and scratched behind his ears. "Hey Zwei, have you ever seen 'Seven Samurai?'"

Zwei barked as he stood up and proceeded to work out. The corgi sat down, wagging his tail as he watched its temporary master go about his routine, while going off into his own little world.

Neopolitan was not a redeemable person. She was completely sadistic to the core, and was one of the many bastards still wasting good air. She dug her heel into a random citizen of Vale that she managed to corner in an abandoned building. She had been torturing them for hours and was pretty sure he was dead now. Nobody would really notice him afterwards, she knew that. The other twenty something bodies in the place let her know that.

"What a waste. You're still alive." She looked around to find the source of that voice. The lights went out and she was left standing there in the darkness of the room. When the lights came back on, the whole room was empty. Not a single body she had in the building was there.

Caw!

She turned around. A single crow hopped around, picking at the floor and cawing.

Caw! Caw!

Two more crows appeared behind the girl, and soon the room was filling up with the black birds that came, seemingly from the shadows.

"Well Neo, just like Cinder, you're wasting good air." She found herself looking up at the painted face of the boy she helped kill. She coudln't move. Her fear of knowing what killed Cinder, and what was going to kill her left her paralyzed.

Jaune stepped forward, dropping some bird seed for the crows to eat before standing in front of the girl. He caressed her cheek gently, barely resisting the urge to dig his nails into her skull.

"You fighting back wouldn't help you, and I'm glad you understand that. Hold still." Her breath hitched as he pressed his thumbs against her eyes and closing his own. All at once, images of people screaming in pain, begging foe mercy, and crying for the release of death came to them. The crows cawed and flapped their wings wildly as Jaune, shaking with rage, pushed his thumbs into the multi-haired girls eyes. She clawed at his hands, her face contorting into what he could only guess was a scream. He pulled his thumbs out and dropped her. Blood poured from her eyes, making it look as if she was crying. He was glad to only be wearing a black shirt. He wanted to especially messy with this one, because he wanted to get a point across.

He reached down for her umbrella, pulling out the blade she had inside. He inspected it, and felt all of the pain it had brought on so many innocent people before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up. He placed the near her head and slowly dragged it across, scalping her. She would've been screaming her lungs out at this point, but she couldn't, and he was glad.

He stepped away and stuffed his prize into a small bag before leaving. She would die there, silently begging for a quicker, less painful death. That was funny because his sisters asked for the same thing...

All the pain. The sorrow. It pierces the heart like an arrow. It pierced theirs, but they survived. The pain and loss made them stronger and Jaune understood that. He sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by multiple beds with where being used by his friends at the moment. They slept so peacefully, undisturbed by the horrors he was dealing with. He liked it that way.

The small ball of fluff that was Zwei slid out of his coat and hopped over to Ruby's bed. A small smile came to him, and proceeded to do what he came for. His arms extended to feel the air in the room and he closed his eyes.

"I can't keep these. But I can't let them go. They've seen things we wouldn't have been able to believe; Explosions as fantastic as a thousand fireworks. They've seen the beauty of the sun in more ways than possibly imaginable..." Small tears formed in his eyes. "Without me... all those moments would be lost... like tears... In the rain..." The wonderful memories flowed into the unsuspecting minds of his friends, calming their dreams, and making smiles form on their faces.

x

 **Well this isn't my best chapter, but It's something... I'm back and will be posting regularly!**

 **Don't forget to leave your reviews, and Thanks For Reading!**


	6. Paranoia

**The next chapters will be pretty short. I've lost allot of steam for this story and I don't want that to reflect on the story. Maybe I'll extend them a bit with more dialogue or some sort of poem or quotes, but I can't really say that I'll actually do any of that.**

 **Anyways I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Mercury was dead. Neo was dead. And most devastating of all, Cinder was dead. She had nobody anymore and with that, no direction. What was she going to do? She couldn't do anything. So she held her knees up to her chest and cried. Thunder clashed outside and a figure in the corner stepped out slowly, crows on his shoulders. She didn't flinch.

"My tears aren't forced. They flow in that dark tunnel that she dreamed so long ago..." She looked up at him. He has his eyes closed, and his head bowed. She made herself comfortable, without taking her eyes off of him. He sat next to her slowly and pulled a blanket over her.

"...You're here to kill me..." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. He remained the same, with no expression written on his face. That changed when he looked down.

"I have to... I'm sorry..." Their eyes met for the longest moment before he reached out and placed a hand on her cheek to wipe away the tear going down her cheek, and he saw everything she did. How much she was grateful to Cinder, how much she hated her former life as a beggar, and the suffering she had leading up to now. He felt how torn up she was on the inside.

"Your soul weeps..." He looked her in the eyes. "It begs..." She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. "But fear not..." She laid down slowly. "...For I have medicine..." He cried silently as one of the crows nuzzled against her for the night.

* * *

The hardest part of what he was doing was not the killing. It was that he could not forget how good it felt. The rush of taking a life and how good that felt. He hated himself for it but he bottled it all up. He would need that later. Right now, someone needed him.

A little girl sat outside a run down apartment, waiting for someone. She wrapped her boney arms around herself in an attempt to keep herself warm. If she wasn't wearing those faded jeans and worn red shirt, you'd be able to see that she was mostly skin and bone. Jaune walked up as casually as he could, wish a small, kind grin on his face. The little girl's face lit up when she saw him.

 _She looks like Yang. Doesn't she?_

"Hey mister, are you a clown or something?" He chuckled slightly and sat down next to her.

"Well if I'm a clown, then you must be a princes." She giggled happily. He got a good look at her and frowned inwardly. Her cheeks where dirty, and she had a bruise underneath her eye.

"Are you cold?" She nodded slowly.

"Hey, I got something for you." Once again that smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts returned.

"Really? What is it?" He handed her a hoodie over to her and she quickly put it on with a smile on her face. She looked down at it while hugging it close to her body. "Hehe, it's got a cute bunny on it!" He smiled and draped a tick coat over her as well.

"Yep! I had to eat allot of cereal for that hoodie, and it was worth it." She giggled a happily at her new found warmth and hugged him.

"Thank you so much mister clown!" He smiled back and stood up.

"Let's get you something to eat." That smile...

It haunted him...

* * *

He made his way through several hideouts. Each offering more rotten souls than the last. All of which he sent gladly to the abyss. But he wasn't alone. Yang's mother wasn't as subtle as she thought either.

 _What a pain. I say we break her._

 _'I can feel something with her. What is it?"_

 _So the Spring Maiden finally shows herself. How brave of her._

He smirked and stepped into the shadows just as she caught up. Raven had been keeping an eye on him from the moment Cinder was found dead. News spread rapidly about attacks on the White Fang, as well as the body of Roman's little helper being found with her eyes gouged out. It was amazing to her, and she wanted him.

"So the Spring Maiden decides to show herself at last. How brave of you..." The voice seemed to be coming from all around her.

"I've seen what you can do..." A dark chuckle bounced around her.

"Have you now? That's good to know. What do yoy want." It wad more of a demand than a question. She frowned lightly, not liking his tone.

"I offer a proposition; join me, and my clan. Together we can eliminate any who stand against us and-"

"And pillage the weak and take advantage of the one's who can't even lift a sword. No thank you. I don't align myself with cowards." He didn't wait for her response. "Especially one's like you; who abandons her daughter, and puts others in danger. You say that only the strong survive? Well you should've died a long time ago!" She couldn't react as a pale face appeared inches from hers. "You think you know how life works? Think again."

Cold hands grabbed her face, and a pain shot through her. She felt all the pain of those she'd hurt, seen the faces of those who could not to anything, and felt the pain her own daughter felt, and how it made her strong.

"Your philosophy is flawed. More so than others." He let her fall to the floor. She curled up and hugged herself, crying out for the first time in years.

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of all children..." He looked down at her. "You have a daughter, Raven. She waits for you..." And like that, he was gone.

* * *

Roman looked at the bottle of whiskey in his hand, wondering about how it all went wrong. He sighed as a crow landed on the bottle, looking into his eyes. He turned to see the one he feared seeing.

"Hello Roman. We have allot to talk about..."

* * *

 **Yeah, I'm not sure how I can keep this up. But here it is! Don't forget to leave your reviews!**


	7. Gather The Pieces

**Last chapter is approaching fast.**

 **x**

* * *

Three bottles of morphine sat on the table before him. The pale kid with the make-up sat right across from him, shirtless and with a needle in his arm. Roman took in every single detail about his body, from the small black dots on his collar bone, to the scars covering him. The one on his chest, right where his heart was, got the most attention, because he knew where that one came from.

"Like what you see?" Jaune smirked at him. There was something under that smile of his; not malice, or contempt. But something friendly and teasing. Roman smirked and lit another cigar.

"Can't say I do." He took a drag. "All I know is that Adam is pretty much shitting his pants at the moment. He's planning something big, but the filthy animal won't tell me what it is..." Jaune's eyes became obscured by the shadows and frown formed on his face.

"How many of the White Fang are you still in charge of?" He grabbed two of the morphine bottles.

"Only a handful... Why?" Jaune shot up, crushing one of the bottles in his hand.

"Juniors Club! Thursday!" He picked up his coat before walking away, his crows landing on his shoulders and head. He stopped and looked back at roman. "And don't try to run, because I'll find you..." Roman blinked, and he was gone. He sighed and grabbed his phone. He made his call and waited.

"Get your men together. We're meeting in Junior's club on Thursday... Nah, just a small problem we gotta take care of.

* * *

Jaune sat in the middle of the floor in his parents room. A mountain of books surrounded him, each full of dark poems, tragic romance, and melancholy stories for anyone to indulge in. He read to the crows in the room, a dark smile forming on his face whenever the mood needed it, and treating each of the black feathered friends as if they where children. They all tilted their heads in interest, and some even shielded their eyes or hid behind others as if they where children. A turn of a page triggers another memory.

 _His mother was reading with his father. They held each other close as she read on. His hand was rubbing her pregnant belly slowly as he suddenly felt a small kick. A small moment of excitement was there. And then if faded away._

The knife was dragged across his arms and hands and the blood his the floor and walls, all while he laughed maniacally. Hot tears ran down his face and his cheeks threatened to split open as he smiled.

"They told me.. not to look..." His finger dragged along the wall, painting a picture. Of what it was, only he knew. Three more spent bullet shells where in his hair.

"Four" He says...

He should've washd the fresh dye out of his hair...

* * *

This time, guns and ammunition littered the floor. The books where no longer in his possession. He wouldn't need them anymore, but he knew a few people that would appreciate them. Besides, he didn't want them anymore. The note even said it.

 _They make me smile too much._

He inspected a very specific gun. It was the one used by his dear, and fellow poet, Mad Jack. Home made, 45., with modified bullets tipped with Rapier Wasp stingers. Perfect for bypassing aura. This gun alone would put any veteran hunter's weapon to shame. He grabbed a brown leather coat he found in his closet, and began tearing pieces from it. After all, a special weapon requires special attention.

The rest of his selection where random pistols and riffles he swiped from some deadbeat's pawn shop. H e tapped them all to his chest, back, arms, and waist, putting on a baggy leather jacket he got from the same shop. He stepped outside, greeting the stray cats that had followed him, as well as a few stray dogs and other birds. He looked up at the shattered moon. A group o crows surrounded him, flying around like a tornado before flying off, leaving a single feather behind.

* * *

Roman lead the faunus grunts through the alleyway, sweating a bit more than usual. The lieutenant had decided to join him that evening after learning about who he was going to meet. Deep down, Roman didn't care. It was the bastards funeral.

"Are you sure he said Thursday.." He groaned and crushed his cigar.

"Yes. He crushed a bottle of morphine with his hand, and yelled it out. I'm pretty sure my neighbors heard it..." He reached to grab another cigar until the sound of laughter caught their attention. He faced them, his pale face enhanced by the black makeup.

"Glad you boys could make it. I was starting to worry." Another dry laugh. The lieutenant looked at Roman. If it wasn't for that stupid mask, he would've been able to see him smirking behind it.

"This is him? A fucking clown?" He laughed out loud, his men joining him shortly. Roman couldn't help but laugh a little. _He's fucked._ A smaller member walked up, brandishing a club, reminding him of Cardin.

"Ready for your Sunday school lesson pal pal?" Jaune smiled, pulling his hands out of his coat.

"Yes. I've come to kneel and worship... this is just another altar.. in the church of pain..." He held his hands out to his sides. His enemies scoffed and laughed.

"You want me to waste him now, sir?"

"Nah, let him talk a little more." Jaune's gaze became cold and serious. He set his arms down, and discretely pulled out two pistols from waist of his pants.

 ** _"One crow sorrow, two for joy."_**

 ** _"Three for a girl and one for a boy."_**

 ** _He wouldn't have to see how it all ended._**

 ** _"Fife for silver six for gold. Seven for a secret that's never been told."_**

"You're all going to die..."

* * *

Yang Xiao Long was a mess. Not only where her and her friends having the same dreams about people they've never even met before, but they where getting gifts from someone who knows them. It was scary and stressful. More or less for her because her mother had suddenly showed up in her life. The amount of weird was too much for her to handle, so here she was. Trying to drown it out with liquor.

"You sure you wanna be drinking this much, blondie?" Junior leaned against the bar facing her. They might have not gotten along very well, or even liked each other for that matter, but that didn't mean he wouldn't worry about her. He wasn't heartless after all. She only nodded and finished her drink, sighing at the fact that she wasn't drunk yet. Her thoughts where interrupted when the doors flew open and several White Fang grunts ran inside, shooting at something. An axe flew in and hit one of them square in the head, killing them. Several more gunshots followed, this time coming from outside, each hitting their target in gory fashion.

The whole club was in an uproar before each body his the floor. Junior and his men stood up, readying themselves, as did Yang. What she didn't expect to see then, was a familiar face, covered in makeup and blood, walk through the entrance with blood pouring down his face. He stuck his tongue out, letting his blood fall onto his tongue as a maniacal look spread across his face.

"Who's next?" He laughed out loud, proud of what he had done. But quickly sobered up, wiping the blood from his face. He turned around to see Roman walk up slowly. He was scared, but hid it well.

"So the ghost man can bleed..." Jaune chuckled and reached into one of the inner pockets of the jacket, and pulled out a black bag. He handed it to Roman.

"You already know what's in here. But I want you to show Adam what I'm going to be doing to him. And don''t try to run, because I will find you." He turned and looked over the horrified faces of everyone who hadn't left the club and smiled his dorkish smile. "Hey Yang!"

"J-Jaune...?" He walked out, ignoring her calls and walked into the alleyway, where the carcass of the lieutenant was still pouring blood. He didn't hear Yang run up behind him, stopping only two feet away.

"Jaune... Is that you?" He turned around, giving her a calm, kind smile. "You're... alive..."

"You should go out more. Pale skin isn't really for you." He turned around, walking into the shadows.

* * *

 **I got lazy at the end there.**


	8. Hello Again

***Strained noises of pain* Here'sthethirdchapterhopeyouallenjoy**

The wood creaked as everyone took a step. Ruby yelped lightly as her foot kicked an empty can to the corner of the room. It's been more than a month now and the place still smelt of burnt wood, and melting plastic.

"Yang, are you sure you're not just going crazy?" Weiss looked at her. Yang frowned and grit her teeth.

"Yes! I saw him myself! He killed a bunch of those faunus terrorists and Torchwick was with him!" She had tears in her eyes. The image of Jaune killing those grunts with a smile on his face haunted her. Why would he do that, and why hadn't he come see them? Too many questions about him where running through her head. It was quiet now, except for the rain that seemed to be falling non-stop ever since Jaune's funeral. It slipped through the cracks of the house, hitting he floor louder than the rain outside. Ruby wanted to say something, when a crow suddenly landed on her shoulder.

"Uhhh!?" She didn't know how to react. Should she hit it? Stay still? What should she do? Ruby giggled slightly as various other crows began to hop around her almost childishly. Blake shuddered and groaned at both the birds at the rain.

"I wish the rain could just stop..."

"It can't rain all the time." Everyone froze at the sudden and familiar voice in the room. Everyone immediately turned to a doorway that would have been the master bedroom, only to see a familiar silhouette. Lightning struck, and thunder followed, briefly lighting the room and revealing the one Yang claimed to have seen, the one who they thought was dead for more than a month. Their faces paled, somehow even Weiss' face did too, as he walked forward, letting the moonlight that came through the broken ceiling serve as his spotlight.

He was nearly white and his black clothes accentuated that. He didn't have the same makeup Yang claimed to have seen him wearing however. He smiled at them, not expecting a good response, but it didn't matter.

* * *

Bullets where pushed into cylinders as everyone sat around him, waiting and watching while crows handed him more. They held their breath and acknowledged the spent bullet casings i his hair, one for each major target. He didn't explain to them anything, nor his motives, because those where crystal clear. He stood up and walked to his closet, pulling out his last clean jacket. A black jacket with various zippers on the front and sides, with the arc symbol on the back.

The others watched as he went to the bathroom with black lipstick, and began painting a false smile on his face, just like Yang had mentioned. He walked back and piked up the many revolvers that littered the floor without speaking a word.

"I have to go now." Ruby jumped up and hugged him from behind, crying.

"Please don't go Jaune... we just got you back..." He sighed and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry..." He turned and hugged her, rubbing her back. "But I have to go..." Blake looked at him, concern written all over her face. Everyone involved in killing his family, had turned up dead, except for one person.

"And where will you go now?" He stood straight, his now long and messy hair covering his face. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists as a small snarl escaped from him.

"Adam Taurus still breathes the air that he does not deserve. I need to go fix that." Blake stood up, her face now angry and worried.

"Jaune..." Her voice was low and threatening. He scoffed at her.

"Even now you want to defend him. After all he's done, after all the people he's murdered in cold blood, human AND faunus."

"We need to bring him to justice, Jaune! You can't go dispensing your own justice!" He began laughing, his eyes and smile turning psychotic, and he got up in her face.

"You tell me this, while you where part of the most wanted group of filth to walk this planet! It is because of him, and the White Fang that faunus suffer, and you want to spare him! You might as well still be part of them if you're still sticking up for those bastards!" A loud slap echoed throughout the room, and all eyes widened. Blake's eyes where burning with rage, and her hand stung slightly. Jaune looked at her, his face deadpanned and serious. His eyes where empty and he stood straight and looked down at her.

"Pain? I know pain at the molecular level. It pulls at my atoms, sings to me in an alphabet of fear. I am the **Boiling Man** , come to break the bones of all sins, meat puppet." The familiar line he spoke months ago came back out of him, scaring Blake and the others as he walked away. He stopped and turned to look at her with a smile.

"Try again?" He laughed as he walked off towards his final goal...

* * *

 **Recycled line from chapter two, is recycled. Don't forget to leave your reviews.**

 **Thanks For Reading**


	9. Catharis

**I Know Why Jesus Wept, Motherfucker**

Here he was again. Alone in the middle of a room, with pictures and pieces of memories all around him in a circle like some sort of new-religion shrine. The black and white corgi was curled up in his lap, sleeping away happily while bullets where placed in chambers, and tape was wrapped around his wrists. The bleeding hadn't stopped after his mind came back to him, and the knife was lost outside. He hated those moments more than anything; when his mind escaped into memories of times now lost forever, and it returned more broken than it already was.

He lost himself in a hazy moment of temporary madness then. New scars would appear all over his body whenever he remembered anything from his childhood, and the memories would always switch back to the fire, blood and death that ended the good times. Those where the moments he hated the most, and he never wanted them to happen to anyone else, ever again. He loaded a single shotgun and stood up, Zwei in his hands. There was already a trail leading outside in the small field, but he could see it.

The animals had gone. He sent them off to better homes of people he knew would car for them. He wouldn't be around much much longer anyway. He set the adorable corgi down and put on the cheap jacket he stole from a random thug trying to raid his home. He liked it somewhat. It was very similar to his father's in a way.

There was a stillness in the air as he lit a match and tossed it on to the kerosene covered grass bellow. The house was engulfed in flames within minutes.

"We better get going, Zwei." The dog barked and walked along side his friend into the dark.

* * *

He sat by her bed side, running his fingers through her soft hair, wondering on his final decision.

This little girl didn't deserve any of her pain. She was too pure for this world. He only hoped she could live and find better friends than he could ever be.

She still wore his hoodie. He wiped a the tears from his face and smiled kindly as she woke up. The brightest of smiles appeared on her face as their eyes made contact.

"Hello, Sherri." She sat up immediately, hugging onto him tightly.

"Mr. Clown! You came back!" He smiled and rubbed her back gently.

"Yes I did." He sat next to her, not wanting to let her go in fear that he might lose her. Tears and sobs filled the quiet spaces of the room and their hugs became tighter.

"I missed you so much..."

"'Mmissed you too, princess..." It was quiet again, and he could hear both their heartbeats. Sherri pulled back, looking into his eyes. His breath hitched.

"You're going away for good this time, aren't you..." He was as afraid to answer her question as she was afraid to ask it, but he swallowed that lump in his throat and spoke.

"Yes... I have to take care of a few things and then... I'm going to see my family..." More tears fell down her face.

"W-where are they?"

"...They're in heaven..." They pull away from each other and look down. All of that weight on his shoulders suddenly became heavier, and all of his grief became stronger.

"I don't understand.."

"...I don't think I do either..."

"...Guess you should go then... even if it makes my hear hurt..." He stood up taking a few steps back and grabbing a bag and walking over to her.

"I'm so sorry, Sherri. But I wish I could change everything. I would've spent more time with you, and given you a better chance at life... But I know that things will get better. I promise..." She sniffed and nodded, not looking at him.

"I brought a few things for you." He knelt down and handed her the bag. "It's not much, but I think you'll like them." She smiled as more tears came, and she hugged him tightly.

"I have to go now..." He hugged back and placed a kiss on her forehead. "See you in heaven, doll." And he was gone. She scooted over to the window of the runned down apartment she called a home and looked out at the murder of crows flying off into the dark sky.

"'Bye, mister clown... I love you..." She sniffed and laid down, hugging the bag closer to herself, not noticing a very scruffy looking man walk in with a very happy corgi in tow.

* * *

Ugly Patrick was as simple as a junkie could get. The only reason he joined the White Fang was to get his fix. He was patient though and could go a good while before the withdrawal symptoms kicked in and made his life hell.

He stood under a streetlight in the corner of 8th street and Hel ave., the meeting place for the usual trades of drugs, goods, and weapons specific to his group of the White Fang. The hideout was a sacked house in the ghetto neighborhood in downtown Vale, and it gave them all good cover.

He'd usually send some useless runt for the pickup, but he wasn't about to sit in the same room as Adam Taurus himself while Roman Torchwick was there too.

"Hey, Ugly Patrick, I think you should start thinking about the other side of eternity..." He slowly turned around and came face to face with some goth kid wearing tape on his hands.

"Wha..? You here with the package?" The kid smirked and lifted his hands over his head, posing as if he was some sort of statue. He could see that all he had on was a pair of leather pants, boots, a thick leather jacket, and a pair of gloves over the tape.

"No. I am he who can dissolve the terror of being man and going among the dead. I am morphine for a wooden leg." He growled and quickly drew a pistol and fired at the kid twice, hitting his chest. But nothing seemed to happen. A crow landed on the kid's shoulder as he lowered his arms.

 _Hhmpp! Chemical monster. Put him down, Jaune._

Patrick took a step back as blood began to pour down the kid's chest and down to his waist. He couldn't get a word out before a gloved hand swiped in front of his face, and fountain of blood burst from his neck.

 _...Amazing that God would waste skin on trash like that..._

"I couldn't agree more."

* * *

Roman knew there was a reason why he hated these fucking animals; so fucking high and mighty, making fun of him while he told the truth. Adam simply kept that fucking deadpan expression on his face.

"You expect me to believe all of that, Roman?" You must on something stupid." Roman shifted in place. His face looked pale, and sweaty. He had been taking nearly dangerous amounts of drugs just to sleep before now, but that obviously hadn't gone over as planned.

"You're damn right I am! After all the shit I've seen, and being stuck helping you, I could barely keep calm! The bastard tore your lieutenant's fucking throat with his bare hands and those fucking weapons did nothing to him!" Adam simply smirked at him and scoffed.

"Pathetic human. Just get out of my sight. Go drown in your morphine or something." The others laughed as Roman shuffled out of the living room, and down to the basement of the house. He needed to calm down. He'd take a quick hit, then he'd get something to drink and go take a nap.

He sat at the table, removing his now dirty suit coat and dropping it on the table. He'd lost his bowler hat on the way down and he didn't notice. He grabbed the rubber rope already sitting at the table and tied it around his left arm, already becoming extremely impatient and filling a syringe with morphine.

"Roman." The whisper startled him enough to squeeze the syringe and send his precious liquid flying into the air. The rubber rope snapped and fell to the ground as Roman struggled to do anything. He stood frozen as the dark figure approached him, smiling a false smile of kindness. His eyes told him everything.

"Hello, Roman." Jaune grabbed a chair and took a seat at the table, across from Roman, who still held the empty syringe in his trembling hand. It threatened to crush said syringe. "You need to learn how to relax."

"I-I tried telling them! They wouldn't listen to me!"

"I know, Roman, I know. Just relax and sit back. I wanted to give you a painless death, so here it is. Have you read Milton?" Roman nodded slowly, his eyes now relaxed. "Lethe?"

"Yeah, I understand..." He looked down at the worn our table. "I wish I could take it all back, kid. I wish I could've started over and done something different... I'm sorry..." his voice and eyes full of regret. Jaune sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It was quiet for a moment before Jaune pulled out three small clear bottles and placed them in front of the shaking ginger.

"Here's your morphine. Do it. All of it. Now." Roman nodded.

"Thanks, Jaune... maybe I'll see you in hell..." Roman picked up the needle again, and filled it. He pushed it into his arm and emptied it into a vein. He did it again, and again.

"Roman, your crime was the most important because it kept silent. It was the act of a soul which battering everything within itself has accumulated immense strength... It knows it's own dark secret..." Jaune removed his jacket, and grabbed five needles, filling them up with the nasty drug and plunged them into his heart. Roman watched at he emptied them all without hesitation.

"...And this can be completely identified with the acts of total destruction soon to come..." He shuddered as the morphine took effect. "You where dead from day one."

"Sweet Monty, You should be dead kid..." Jaune chuckled and picked up a small knife.

"We do not recognize our souls until they are in pain..." Roman chuckled and slurred.

"Spoken like a true angel of death..." Jaune began carving a circle with little lines on his chest, making sure they where deep. "What are you doin'?"

"I'm wearing the crown of thorns Adam placed on my head." Roman's vision started to go. He could feel his grasp on life slipping. He would see Neo again.

"Heh... Do me a favor... When you get to Adam... kill that bastard slow." Maybe he would see his grandmother? It's been too long since he'd seen her. Maybe his grandfather could tell him about his adventured as a kid. He always did love those...

"Yo! Roman! You almost done?"

"Dumb human, probably passed out or something."

"Well go wake him up and get his sorry ass out of here."

His body felt numb...

* * *

Jaune walked up some stairs, already feeling seven of the remaining hundred White Fang members just around the corner at the top. He could hear them speaking about his exploits, and how crazy he was.

If only they knew the half of it...

"He ain't coming back here man. Be a sure ride in a big black..." He pulled out his special revolver, painted it at the wall and pulled the trigger. The wood splintered violently and the headless body flew and hit the wall. He loved this gun.

The others couldn't react as five more shots where fired, and their bodied flew back of simply slumped down. Only one remained, gripping his gun tightly. He was a rabbit faunus. Jaune looked at him, placing a single bullet in the gun and puling the hammer back as the faunus trembled in fear.

"What's your name?" He held his gun close to his chest.

"T-Two-Tone..."

"Do you want to live, Two-Tone?"

"I..." He lowered his gun and let it go. "...Yes. I want to live. The stench of blood began filling the air and Two-Tone fell to his knees, sobbing.

"I've already taken my ride in the big black car. Do you see my smile in my words, sad and evil? Sad because I am Utterly alone. Evil because I am dead and yet I live. Can you hear me? Listen. A dead man visits you."

"Please don't kill me... Don't kill me..." He held his head in his hands, not feeling that he was alone now, surrounded by bodies.

* * *

There was a bit of rain in the air, not enough to cause a fog, but enough to soak someone to the bone it they walked in it for a week. In the middle of the street, in the center of Vale for all to see, where seven cars. In those cars where what remained of the white fang, and there wasn't much, only the blackest of hearts. The vale police force had them surrounded, granted they where two blocks away from them, but that was because they waited for capable warriors to come take care of them. They wouldn't have to wait for long though.

Adam Taurus sat in one of these cars with only one other passenger: Shelby The Giant, who had seen the person they where going to face tonight.

He was a fit man, boney looking but with enough muscle to hold a gun. He wasn't as heavy a drug user as the drug rink in the White Fang, but he indulged in them form time to time.

The cars began to empty out as several White Fang members stretched and prepared themselves for the fight. One walked up to Adam's car and leaned on it near the window.

"What's up, Adam?" Adam didn't look at him directly, only staring at him from the corner of his eye.

"How many do we have?" The member shifted looking over at the men, making a rough estimate.

"Couple of hundred. We got whoever we could here, but mostly everyone bailed after what happened to the lieutenant. We got enough fire power to level a village though, so we should be good." Adam nodded, hiding his anger. The clueless member noticed Shelby in the passenger seat. "How you doin' Shelby?"

"How's it look like, asshole?" He reeled back slightly when Shelby showed him his right hand, which now only had his thumb, but composed himself.

"Sorry sir. We'll get this guy. Ghost my ass..." Adam scoffed and grinned.

"You and the rest hang back. If you see anyone coming, waste them." He nodded and walked back to the group, leaving Adam and Shelby alone. It was quiet for a moment before Shelby spoke up.

"You believe in that Ghost shit, Adam?" Adam scoffed again and looked at him.

"I believe in facts. If it bleeds like that retards Roman told us, he'll go down easy..." Several minutes passed before tapping could be heard on the roof of the car. Shelby growled

"Goddamn rain..." Two sudden clicks and and explosion next to Adam had everyone looking over at the burgundy car. Adam panicked and started fumbling with the knobs and buttons in the car. He turned the windshield wipers on, trying to get the blood covering it out of the way.

A double barreled shotgun landed on the hood of the car, startling Adam again.

"Adam you idiot. The blood is inside. Inside the car. Inside your head. For the moment at least..." Jaune stood on top of the car, hands in the pockets of the leather jacket he had taken. He stpped down to the hood calmly and jumped off the car. He turned and glared at Adam through the stained windshield as the faunus wiped the blood away with his gloved hand.

"Get out of the car, bastard. I'm going to kill all of your foot soldiers... I want you to see it happen." He walked out into the middle of the road ad every remaining White Fang member stepped out and glared at him.

It was raining now.

"Gentlemen, don't you know enough to go in out of the rain?" He smirked at their confusion. "Don't tell me you don't see it! It's raining blood! But I digress..." He slipped the jacket off slowly, letting it fall to the floor before spreading his arms.

"A sick thirst darkens my veins. There is a clock that never strikes. Come on. Do it. I've no weapons. Shoot, now." Adam, who now had his bravado back, aimed blush at him.

"Any last words, human?"

 _You remember, boy..._

"The crow said don't look." Adam smirked.

"Drop him!" Everyone began opening fire. Every bullet struck Jaune, spilling blood and blowing chunks of flesh off while he held his arms out with a smile.

* * *

 **ATTRITION**

 _It is not death if you refuse it_

Laughter rang out in the street. Everyone watching could only stare in horror as the smoke cleared and revealed the bullet riddled body of Jaune Arc. Bullets fell to the floor and blood stopped pouring out.

Unknown to them, there where spectators all over remnant witnessing this. None where more disturbed than the team that thought their friend dead.

The boy seemingly phased out if existence, confusing the terrorists.

"Where the hell did he go!?"

"He's over there!"

"I can't see him!"

"Oh shit!"

Utter chaos broke out when he suddenly appeared behind one of hem and broke his arm effortlessly. He grabbed the gun in the sour souls hand and blew half of his head off, using the remaining bullet to blow the arm off another Fang member.

"Behold the night offering! The key that opens wide her gates of horn, to the emanations of delivered souls!" The sound of a shotgun reached his ears, and he spun to his left, hitting the gun up into the mouth of the faunus with is elbow with enough force to make them blow their own head off.

He felt a large knife go through his neck and he grabbed the wrist of the one responsible and twisted it until the crunching sound of broken bones was heard. He took hold of the knife and plunged it into their chest. He used the force of the stab to picked them up from the ground and gutted them before tossing them aside.

"This society... Absolved. Consecrated. Sanctified. Possessed of the devil..." He faced his next victim. "Like a flood of black crows in the in the fibers of his eternal tree, submerged him in a last swell!" He raised his fist, dodging a right cross and punching them with enough force to break his neck and a few teeth.

"And taking his place..." Adam swung, cutting at his neck before firing a shot to the back of his head, but he remained alive. "... Killed him!"

He began to strike down several others with lethal force, not being at all bothered by the amount of ammunition being wasted on him.

"Oh, you sewer rats are so faithful, you cause me to blush to my bones! You just never stop dying for me!" Several more shots where directed at him, hitting him along his arm, shoulder and neck. He smirked and liked the blood off his shoulder suggestively while looking at Adam. "Love bites, Adam? I'm afraid that's not enough!"

He swung a kick to the head of another faunus, breaking their neck. His fingers dug into the skull of another, killing them instantly.

"Come on kids... This isn't cavalry hill." Two more shots, one through the neck, bursting his adams apple, and the other through his head.

"Walk away from that motherfucker!" He smirked and looked at them, his adams apple covered in pouring blood visible to them.

"Not a chance." They took a step back. "Scared?"

"No?" He grabbed them by the back of their head and smashed their face into a wall, caving their face in with a very loud splat. "You should be." He smiled wikedly at the bodies.

"Last call! If anyone would like me to dial 911 please rais your hand!"

* * *

 **CRESCENDO**

 **DEATH**

What Adam Taurus had just witnessed, was purely inhumane. His grip on his weapons faltered and they fell to the ground, catching the attention of the makeup wearing psychopath. He immediately ran into his car, fumbling with the keys bfore starting it up. He was feeling true fear was for the first time in a long time.

"Buckle up, Shelby, it's the law! Man you stink!" He stepped on the pedal launching the car down the road, and into a crowd of spectators who quickly moved out of the way.

"Does Adam know where he's headed?"

 _No_

He looked down an alley way, at a white car, with two yellow arcs on the grill.

"I know..."

* * *

 **STEEL TIDE ON AN ASPHALT BEACH**

"To hell with Vale! We can rebuild in Vacuo or, Mistral! That walking nightmare won't find me there, Shelby!" He kept driving down the road at full speed, wanting to steal the earliest bullhead as fast as possible. "I should kick your rotting carcass out of here, but I'm not stopping now! That bastard human won't..."

There, on his driving mirror, he could see a white car speeding after his own. He could see the face of that psychotic bastard smiling at him.

"Wait... this road, it's..." He could see a burnt out house in the middle of a field out ahead.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!" He tried to push the pedal further, but the car was driving as fast as possible. That was a mistake.

A giant black bird appeared, floating in front of the car, startling him and causing him to swerve. It was a spectacle to behold. The car flipped over several times, throwing the corpse of Shelby The Giant out, and smashing in parts of the car in so deep, it looked as if a canonball struck it.

In the end, oil and gasoline spilled from the car like blood from a person. Adam pulled himself out through the rear window, and tried to stand but fell.

"No... my fucking legs..." If he where to take his pants off, he would see splinters of bones sticking out harshly, and the flesh on both legs torn to hell. But he ignored it and looked up at the approaching silhouette with a hammer.

"Well!? COME ON! DO IT!" He stepped in front of the red haired faunus and took in the sight. Broken mask exposing fearful amber eyes, a broken horn, and a snarky attitude fit for a brat. "You pussy... You're trash, just like your sisters..."

He kept his face calm, but a dark smile formed on his face.

"Hey Adam, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"

"A fucking quiz... I don't know."

"It depends on the tune."

* * *

 **PASSOVER**

"Hey everyone. I'ts over. I'm coming home..." Jaune leaned sat on the soil and leaned up against his grave. He stared out into the entrance of the grave yard. He had visitors. Too bad he wouldn't be able to greet them. The wind blew as several crows landed on and next to him

"Hey mom... remember when you said 'Mine' and dad said 'Forever'? You said 'Only forever?'..."

 _It's forever, now._


	10. Epilogue: A Snowflake in a Storm

They say every snowflake is individual. Unique. A miracle that nature will never repeat. But it settles. It falls and melts, and is again, just snow. No longer unique. And waiting to perish.

It was snowing now, and it would snow for another four months. But my work would be done in less than that. My predecessor was a purity in this word, snuffed out by the corrupt that sought to drown the world in darkness. I will pick up where he left off, because I am all those who where slain by the hand of the corrupted, and I would avenge him and all those who suffered. Because I am a Man.

"A familiar melody on the night wind..."

 _NO! Merely a prelude. Mustn't rush a crescendo..._

"HAHAHA! Of course, my friend. Let us begin, with a pawn." The crow on my shoulder flew off to lead me. Haven would be the first of the many places I shall visit...


	11. Sequel Is Out

**Sequel is out**


End file.
